


No Regrets

by Shiroyuki



Category: Kyou Kara Maou!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst and Feels, Canon - Anime, Insecure Shibuya Yuuri, M/M, Original Countries, Political Conflicts, Some Humor, Supportive Wolfram, Time Travel, War, a few flashbacks and memories, being a king is hard, past and future, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-06 22:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17354144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiroyuki/pseuds/Shiroyuki
Summary: He knew that he had made a mistake. An error of which there would be no return, most likely. Not just one. A series of mistakes, one after another. He shouldn’t have let his nerves control him, shouldn’t retreat and fled from his responsibilities. Shouldn’t blame himself so much. Shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes. Shouldn’t make mistakes.And, above of all, he shouldn’t have given up to his curiosity. Maybe, it was his biggest mistake, after all. Do everything differently. Make the right choices.It would be good.-Yuuri is lost - literally and figuratively - and as he searches for a path through all the confusion, he ends up finding more questions than answers, having a (very close) glimpse of what the future holds.





	1. Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm not a native English speaker, and that's my first fanfic here. I decided to write and post as a way to study the language, so if you notice some mistake or have some advice to improve my writing, don't hesitate to point it out!  
> Despite this, I hope you all enjoy the story. I have planned it for a long time, and only now I had the courage and motivation to continue it, so I hope it works, and that you enjoy it!
> 
> P.S. The story mostly follows the anime timeline, but something of the novels may end up being included over time as well, nothing crucial though.

 

 

 

_He knew that he had made a mistake._

_An error of which there would be no return, most likely. Not just one. A series of mistakes, one after another. He shouldn’t have let his nerves control him, shouldn’t retreat and fled from his responsibilities. Shouldn’t blame himself so much. Shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes._

_Shouldn’t make mistakes._

_And, above of all, he shouldn’t have given up to his curiosity. Maybe, it was his biggest mistake, after all._

_Do everything differently. Make the right choices._

_It would be good._

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Everyone spoke at the same time, with their voices mingling, exalted, and making a uniform and confused noise, that filled his ears, uncomfortable like the hiss of a non-frequency radio.

The young King was still sitting in his place, watching inattentively the familiar figures who had long ago forgotten their seats. It had begun as a pleasant discussion about the country’s situation and now seemed like some family dinner that had gone terribly wrong. Except there was no food on that table, a fact to mourn, cause it was already night and the boy’s stomach in his growing stage reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything since the raspberries that he had stolen from the kitchen, with his daughter at afternoon.

But he could not fail, could he? He was the King. People trusted him and the decisions that he would make in the face of any difficulty. Perhaps this was a huge responsibility for a Japanese teenager that by the law wasn’t even old enough to drink alcohol. An entire nation’s future was in his hands, basically. In his hands, and in the hands of those around him, at that moment.

The wooden table was filled with maps, documents, parchments and a set of ink and feather. He was at the end of the table, with his generals, ministers, advisors, or whatever they should be formally appointed. Yuuri liked to call them just friends.

He tried to pay attention to the members of his court’s words, he really tried. Heard about random concepts in a larger context. Taxes. Export. Exchange rate. Commercial Agreements. Maritime transport. Political advantage. He knew this words and their meanings, even though it was not common in the daily life of the most people in his age, but it still didn’t make any sense to him at that moment, even if he was making the effort.

“What do you think about it, Yuuri?”

Yuuri looked up to see the amber orbs that were searching for him. He imagined that he must have looked stupid at the moment, but it was not like he could change that in time. Suddenly he felt that four more pairs of eyes looked at him closely. He cleared his throat, knowing that a coherent answer was needed.

“Well”. He got to his feet, trying to cross the turmoil of conflicting thoughts that plagued him, and form a thought that made sense, that could be turned into at least a full sentence. A decision was needed. He could not just leave all the work to others and leave it out whenever bigger problems arose. How could he call himself King when a simple economic agreement with another country already left him in such a conflict?

“I… I need to think.”

It was not exactly what he meant, but no one showed any contrary reaction. Yuuri felt something wither inside. What an expectation they would have, with a ruler so unprepared. Wishing he had something better to say to everyone, Yuuri sat back down, and the others did the same.

“It’s not like you need to make a decision now, Your Majesty,” Conrad spoke with him again, in that sympathetic-older-brother tone that Yuuri was already used to hearing in situations like this. He wanted to correct and tell Conrad to stop treating him with honorific titles since he was first of all his godfather, but Conrad went ahead before he could. "I know we seem uneasy at this unexpected proposal…”

“How could we not be _uneasy_?” The youngest member of that court besides Yuuri himself, his self-proclaimed fiancee, seemed far beyond simple uneasiness. Wolfram was fully exalted, gesturing widely, his golden curls moving wildly around his porcelain face, all the more agitated. “Dhanavis is an absolutely distant country, across the ocean, with which we never kept any close contact. And, out of nowhere, does an official letter arrive, offering a mutual trade agreement? In a few days, an official representative of the country will appear here, and we need to have an answer to give him!”

“We need to analyze this proposal carefully.” The deep voice of the former Queen’s first child immediately stopped the younger brother. He was seriously considering the matter, making two more lines of expression appear on his forehead, adding to the others. “On one hand, it may be economically advantageous to open our ports to more distant countries, and bring one more nation as an ally, even if only in commercial basis at the beginning is always interesting”.

"I like to have allies…" Yuuri muttered more to himself, absorbing the conversation better now that the spirits had calmed down, and each one spoke at once.

“We need to check what this country has to offer in exchanging, nevertheless.” Wolfram retorted. “Why exactly they are interested in our harvest so suddenly? We have never been a country known for exportations, this interest seems very suspicious if you want my opinion”.

“Could it be because we have a… good wheat?” Yuuri tried.

“Not only the wheat, Your Majesty, but I am also almost certain that our whole harvest is of the highest quality!" Günter said, already very excited. “Everything that is cultivated in these lands blessed by the Great Shin'ou will flourish beautifully and bring prosperity to our beloved people!”

“However, do we have the production to cover the demand for exports to another country?” Conrad asked.

“Our lands have always been very fertile… as His Excellency von Christ reminds us every five minutes”. Gwendal completed before Günter felt tempted to interfere again. “Thus, I do not see why not increase our production to a level reasonable enough to expand our external reach. The rains are regular, the weather is favorable, and the peasants look healthy and satisfied. They will certainly accept the idea of selling the excess part of their production when we present it to them. It would be the most opportune moment for an economic and commercial investment of this size, in fact”.

“From the information we had obtained, Dhanavis is an influential country in offshore lands and is well known for its production of spices, sugar, and textiles. It would be advantageous for us to reach a free trade agreement considering that they are products of more difficult access in this part of the continent.” The only Asian besides the Maou himself, a reincarnation of the Great Sage and the King’s right hand for so many generations, Murata spoke thoughtfully as he stared at some of the papers in his hands.

“I do not deny that this seems to be an advantageous alliance for innumerable reasons, but-" The blond mazoku sighed, and lifted his eyes directly at Yuuri. Wolfram was sitting directly to his left, so they were really close to each other. His expression changed immediately, leaving the political mode, and back to being just Wolfram. Being stared so suddenly made young Maou shudder. “You can’t be naive, Yuuri. We don’t know what this country really wants, they might be planning something behind our backs!”

Yuuri doesn’t know what could be said. Everyone seemed divided between accepting Dhanavis' proposal or distrusting their intentions, and the decision on this agreement fell directly on him. Discuss the issue was getting nowhere. As a ruler, he was the one who should set out his opinion, and lead the way to the most consistent and correct decision. They said he should trust his instincts, but no answer came to his head.

It was not just a question of answering yes or no. There were many variables to consider. The prosperity of his people, or their protection? What if he ended up denying a genuine proposal, and this offended the other country in some way, still causing more diplomatic problems? What if he chose the wrong path?

Suddenly, Yuuri stood up. His stomach rolled, empty, twisting with nervousness and hunger. He looked at each of the beautiful faces that watched him, attentive to his every move. Wolfram, Conrad, Gwendal, Murata, and Günter. They waited for his words. They could not come to terms among themselves, and they trusted in his judgment. It was Maou's turn to speak.

“I…”  Yuuri swallowed, his voice rough, almost unrecognizable. “I can’t think straight…” he admitted in defeat, his shoulders dropping in the same second. “Could you… leave me alone for a while? I just want to… I just want to make the right decision, you know?”

“Yuuri, we–”

“I know, Wolf.” He didn’t let the blonde finish his sentence. “But that’s my responsibility and I want to do my best. So… I just need some time to think, okay?” - He tried to smile but didn’t seem very sincere, even for him. “You don’t have to look for me, I'll be fine. When I get back, I'll have an answer, that's it. So ... Excuse me”.

Yuuri didn’t wait to see what would be the reaction to his words. He knew that it was not exactly the behavior expected of a King, but he could no longer stand in that room without knowing what to say.

Before he knew it, he was running.

 

* * *

  
  
  


He had never been to that part of the castle before.

It was night, and all the smooth stone corridors were plunged into complete darkness. Yuuri didn’t have a path in mind when he left the meeting room. He also didn’t care where his legs were taking him, but wherever he went he would face some of the guards scattered around the castle, and to have company was all he wanted to avoid at the moment.

Therefore, he began to avoid the usual paths, moving in any direction that seemed farther away. His head was confused, with so much to think about, and in his limited ability to visualize situations in general, it seemed a good idea to walk randomly through empty corridors and unused staircases, even if to only distract his mind for some time.

He shouldn’t have ventured alone into the castle when it was obvious that although he had lived there for such a long time, he was not yet familiar with all those confusing corridors and labyrinths. The place was so big that it wouldn’t be surprising if no one really knew it entirely - well, maybe Josak - and it was with some relief that, after following through unknown paths, Yuuri eventually found on the floors above the isolation he was looking for.

The corridor stretched long, though he could not see its end. No guard nearby, no illumination. It was hard to find a place as quiet and empty as the one inside the castle. On one side, the long windows like those that existed throughout the castle were covered with heavy dark curtains. On the other, only a continuous wall, without openings or any decoration. Yuuri pulled the curtain closer to the side, scattering powder accumulated over the years for air, which made his nose tingle. Moonlight outside encroached on space, and he could see better.

As expected, there was nothing around. He could just sit there, alone, and let his mind wander until an answer came to him. A divine light, guidance from the ancestors Maous, anything that gave him at least a sign that there was a way out of all that doubt. But who was he kidding? Nothing was so easy.

Although he had grown accustomed to the reality of being a King, at times like this he realized the truth from which he couldn’t escape: he was just a weak 16-year-old boy with no physical, mental or intellectual training to manage a whole country. He had only come so far because he always had the help of Conrad, Gwendal, and all the others.

Something unnamed and arduous weighed on his shoulders, and he didn’t know if he could handle the trust everyone put in him. He removed the blue pendant from his neck, the one that was the constant reminder of everything that had happened so that he was there, at that moment. And yet he was still lost. Maybe he should not be Maou after all.

He had thought of it so many times and always came to this conclusion. With the cord in his hand, he turned the stone, warmed by being always in contact with his skin, between hesitant fingers. As much as he had sometimes managed to get some success in his attempts to lead, on these occasions, he always depended on the help of others to do anything.

If only there was some way to know what consequences his decision would lead to. If he could see the future…

A noise startled him. Yuuri looked around. It seemed to have come from outside, but he was not sure. Suddenly, the loneliness provided by the place was no longer as comforting as it seemed at first, but he also did not intend to return to the others without having a resolution to the case. Apparently, he was completely alone in that place.

He stood, the stone still firm in his hand. There was a door at the end of the hall, which he had only noticed at that moment. Without much thought, Yuuri took a few steps. It might have been his impression, but he could have sworn he saw a dim light sneaking under the door. It would not be possible for anyone to be there, in that remote part of the castle, at that time of night, and he knew it. However, it was not hard to check, just to be sure.

The door was locked from the outside, there was no way to have anyone inside that place. Yuuri tested the lock. She was stiff from lack of use, but after a few attempts, she relented. The door opened with a shuffling noise that echoed widely down the hall. There was no light there. Only a spiral staircase leading up, surrounded by stone walls identical to all the others in the castle, occasionally punctuated with brackets to fit torches, which Yuuri did not have at the moment.

Since there was nothing there, Yuuri was about to close the door again and return to his personal reflection when he heard a short burst. It was like sparks from a bonfire bursting in the air, here and there, so far away that Yuuri thought it was his imagination, playing tricks again. But on top of it, he saw again that faint, slightly bluish illumination, which seemed to spread through the air until it disappeared.

The situation was a bit scary, he had to admit, and Yuuri had seen few horror movies in his life, but enough to know that he shouldn’t follow strange noises when he was alone in the dark. The wisest thing to do would be to seek help from someone or to warn any of the guards about what he had heard. Yuuri was aware of this, however, after the whole scene during the meeting, returning there scared and seeking help wasn’t the best prospect for him. It would only confirm to everyone how unprepared and unfit their leader was. Especially if at the end, there was nothing and he was just exaggerating in his perception.

He took a deep breath, gathering oxygen and all the courage he could, and started up the narrow staircase. He had barely climbed two steps and was already fantasizing about a reality where he captured a phantom invader alone. He couldn’t wait to see everyone's surprise when he proved what he could do. Wolfram would be so taken aback!

The cracklings echoed again, now much louder and closer. Yuuri hesitated, pausing in the middle of a step. He chewed his lower lip so he would not let a _‘who's there?_ ’ This was the second most foolish thing to do in situations like this, right after following random noises in the dark. Since he was already there, he continued, cautiously.

The spiral steps came to an end, and Yuuri found himself in front of an arched opening leading to a room. In the dark, Yuuri was not sure about its size. The walls seemed to be oval in shape, and from the landscape that he could see through the dusty stained glass of the windows that surrounded the whole room, it could only be some of the smaller towers on the top of the castle.

Yuuri realized that it was some kind of storage, or office, that had not been used for many years - centuries, perhaps. Shelves were scattered near the walls, furniture was thrown into a corner, some covered with sheets. There were stacks of books on the floor, and he noted with difficulty, many old maps, and parchments.

The flickering and fragile flickering permeated the whole room, casting a faint bluish glow on the floor, the walls and objects thrown randomly through space, and still reflected the dust that floated across the air indistinctly. For a few seconds, Yuuri wondered if he wasn’t dreaming, but the recent discussion in the conference room was still alive in his memory, and he could feel the change in the air around him, gradually colder. The feel of the place shivered in his skin, and that little fear rose, an insecurity that manifested itself and repeated without stopping that he should turn around, forget that place and that inexplicable light, and pretend that none of this had happened.

The sound of low clicks came up again, and Yuuri looked around, aware of any movement he might notice, but there was nothing. It was as if he were in a time-stationary place where sunlight never reached, and nothing ever happened. Behind one of the empty shelves, the glow became stronger, and it seemed to radiate even more as he approached.

Moved now more out of curiosity than anything else, Yuuri advanced to the piece of furniture and drew it back with some difficulty, making the wood scratch the floor with a noise too uncomfortable and too loud. There was a crack in the wall behind it, and the light increased, now really illuminating the place, and dimmed Yuuri's vision for a moment.

It was like a spotlight right on his face. For a while, Yuuri was bewildered, hiding his eyes closed with one arm, feeling only the comfortable warmth that emanated from that light. After all, it had not looked so bad. He tried to open his eyes but still couldn’t see anything. The light grew even more.

Before he knew what he was doing, he had taken two more steps, and the light absorbed him willingly. Yuuri dared not open his eyes anymore, and his mind spun as he was on his way from Shin Makoku, although the journey had become much calmer in recent times and he no longer remembered what it felt like to be being pulled, distorted, and then shrunk back into that sort of dimensional Star Tours. The sensation now was very similar, but there were no stars around. Or at least he didn’t think so.

There was only that clarity that insisted on invading his closed eyelids. His head weighed, and he figured he would lose consciousness at any second. His body grew tired, and he lost touch with the ground, with the air, and with anything that surrounded him. He hadn’t known where he was. His last thought, before losing his senses completely, was that perhaps he had made a mistake.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, this is the first fanfic written in English I post here on the site, and it couldn't be in any fandom other than KKM, which was present for a good part of my life years ago, and brought me countless incredible things, including the opportunity to meet someone who is by far the most important person in my life today.  
> That aside, I believe that both the anime and the novels have an incredible story, with wonderful characters and endless possibilities. And I think that's why, despite the time, I still love this universe so much.
> 
> See you in the next chapter!


	2. Reflex

It was cold.

Much more than he remembered. Besides, his bed was too hard, half wet, icy, and he felt something uncomfortable pinching his skin. Definitely not comfortable. Slowly his consciousness was recovering, and past the initial state of torpor, he was able to find his senses, and regain control over them. He tried to open his eyes with some difficulty, feeling that there was something important that he was forgetting. Something that had happened…  that he had done… 

Oh! That strange light!

His memories were ordered at once, and Yuuri opened his eyes, leaning on his arms to rise. He was lying down, but that was not really a bed. It took him a little longer to get accustomed to the darkness around him, and he stood up, dizzy, slowly absorbing the information that he was no longer in that abandoned room at Blood Pledge Castle. In fact, not even in Shin Makoku, he was anymore!

Looking around, it was not hard to realize that he was somewhere in his homeworld. There was grass at his feet, and a well-kept garden around, in a backyard surrounded by a tall wooden fence. To his left, a median space that reflected the moonlight, which he soon identified as being a pool. The cold wind whistled, making him shudder. In front of him stood what appeared to be the back of an ordinary house of reasonable size, very different from his own home in Japan, or anyone that he was used to seeing in his neighborhood back there. It looked more like the scenario of some American movie or series that he watched on television not so often.

The boy ran his hands through his black uniform, removing the dirt and grass that had been attached to it, and advanced a few steps. The glass back door was open. Getting closer, he could see what appeared to be a nicely decorated dining room.

Yuuri did not have the slightest ability to be a delinquent. Anyone who knew him could confirm that. The classes he killed when he needed to stay longer than planned on Shin Makoku and the time he ended up fighting his baseball coach were the only transgressions tainting his exemplary Japanese citizen curriculum. So, the home invasion had never been a real prospect in his mind. Until that moment.

He was freezing outside, and he needed to know where the hell he was! At least to get help. Maybe the owners of the house were nice and would let him use a phone or something. Of course, no one would ever believe the story of a teenager claiming to be a King from a distant, medieval country in another dimension, and who had fallen into that yard by mistake when saw a mysterious light. Moreover, if he could speak the language of the people who lived there since it was apparently in some foreign country. Yeah… he needed a plan.

Sighing, he decided to leave his ethics aside and approached the door. He took off his sneakers, leaving them in a corner, and took a few steps, silently, into the house. If there was any clue about where he was or a phone, it would be of some help. At least the house was heated, and he already felt more comfortable, regaining the lost heat as he advanced along the path of juvenile delinquency.

He could not distinguish much in the dark, but it seemed to be a pleasant place to live. On one side there was a kitchen, and then a living room, with a staircase leading upstairs. Everything rested in the most complete silence, and judging by the stillness of the surroundings, it was late in the night. The residents of that house must have been asleep. So why had they left the door open in the middle of the night in that cold weather?

With a few more steps, Yuuri saw a light on, in an open doorway down the hall. Completely ignoring the fact that he was an invader in that house, and anyone would probably call the police as soon as they saw him, he headed toward the one hint that there was someone who could help him to locate and - possibly - go back home.

The door was ajar, and Yuuri pushed it lightly. He soon realized that there was no one in the room, which looked like an office. A large bookcase occupied the entire side of the wall, with several books, objects, and picture frames, but he could barely see them, cause there was only the pale light of a table lamp. On the desk, piles of papers, with a cup of coffee still steaming on the side, a sign that whoever was there before would probably return soon.

But Yuuri paid no attention to any of that evidence, so as soon as he set his eyes in place, the first thing he noticed was the glass frame hanging from the wall behind the desk. He walked in that direction with his eyes glittering, instantly forgetting all his troubles. An official Boston Red Sox uniform, autographed by the players, framed and preserved eternally on that wall.  Wow! He'd love to have one of those on his bedroom wall, totally! Looking more closely, he didn’t recognize any of the signed players there. Had they hired new players recently? Yuuri was completely out of the news that season.

Now more convinced that whoever lived there would help him in any way – a Red Sox fan could not be a bad person, after all! – Yuuri looked back at where he was. Then he noticed the scattered papers. They were documents, maps, and books all over the table, with a pen thrown between them, and some random notes. Very similar to what he had just seen on the table at the Conference Room some time ago. The memory made Yuuri feel a tightness in the pit of his stomach.

He was lost somewhere on Earth, no idea how to go back to Shin Makoku, with all the crisis generated by the commercial agreement, which, by the way, would now be impossible to answer without Maou's presence to sign it. He got himself into a bigger mess than before and would bring even more trouble for everyone, who would have to stop the negotiations until he returned. He got himself into a bigger mess than before and was bringing even more trouble for everyone, who would have to stop the negotiations until he returned.

“Congratulations, Yuuri…” he whispered to himself, in an ironic tone he rarely used, and didn’t even know he had by then. He looked at the papers on the table, imagining that the house’s owner probably was also in trouble since he was awake at dawn reading about… border guards and arms distribution? “Hey, wait–!”

The document's language in front of him was written not in English, much less Japanese, although he could automatically understand some of the words just by looking. There were not words that should be embodying documents like those on Earth. They were the ideograms of Shin Makoku's language!

Yuuri advanced, and in the eagerness to see it all at once, he flushed and bumped into the table lamp, making it fall hard on the floor in a dry noise that seemed much louder than the normal in contrast to the silence that was set up till that moment.

The boy froze in the same place, not daring even to move. He couldn’t see anything but was hearing noises coming from upstairs. Steps. Yuuri should get out of there before they found him, but he didn’t know where to run. Footsteps approached. They must be coming down the stairs by now. Quick, think fast, Yuuri!

“Yuuri?” Once again, he stopped. Someone called by his name, closer and closer. Not just someone. He would be able to recognize that voice anywhere, and with his eyes closed. He had also been sent to this place! For a brief second, Yuuri felt a little relieved. So he was not alone! “Yuuri, I already told you to come to sleep and not stay so late…”

A light came on suddenly. Yuuri restrained the urge to scream.

Anchored in the door frame, with a hand still on the wall switch, a familiar figure stared at him in astonishment. Familiar, but not exactly as he remembered. He wore a white button-down shirt – or would it be a nightgown? –  that reached to his knees’ height. The emerald eyes were exactly alike, though they were now slightly wide in shock. His golden hair, longer as well, fell in delicate waves around his face, which had slightly longer and sharper angles. He looked… older.

“Yuuri?” In that brief whisper of surprise, his voice also seemed different. More serious, though it remained the same tone as he was accustomed to. Yuuri didn’t quite know what to think, so he just stood there, not moving a single muscle. His lips opened, hesitant, giving vent to the solitary word that found its way in the whirlwind of thoughts that raged to be pronounced.

“Wolfram?”

  
  
  


 

* * *

 

 

 

 

It was dark.

When he opened his eyes, accustoming them to the gloom, he realized instantly that it was no longer the same place as before. His body didn’t ache, and he didn’t feel any impact or blow. His hair, once in a low ponytail, now fell into his eyes. He pulled the elastic that hung, slackened, through the remaining locks, tucked it into the pocket of his pants, and stood up, alert. First, he had to find out where he was. Then figure out how he got there, and why.

The stone walls were exactly like those of his castle, but he didn’t remember any abandoned room like that. He walked a few steps through the place and looked out the window. The landscape was extremely familiar. It was in some of the high towers of the Castle, there was no doubt about it. Judging from the mountains he could see in the distance, it was a farther east tower.

Despite this, there was something wrong in the air. The last time he was in Shin Makoku, the winter was starting. It had not started to snow, but the nights were so cold that it was impossible to stay in any of the rooms without a fire. But the weather around him seemed just… nice. Like in the middle of spring, or in early summer. His sweatpants and hoodie were already beginning to make him feel hot.  It had only been three days since he had returned to Earth. There was no way the temperature could change so drastically.

Leaving it aside, he noticed that no one seemed to be around, and that place rested in an unusual silence. He could almost feel the static in the air. Without hesitation, he followed in silent steps toward the only possible exit that led to a spiral staircase. As he walked down the steps, he carefully tried to understand what had happened there.

The last thing he remembered was that he was in his office, late at night, reviewing some documents and insistently trying to find amid all those information a way forward; he remembered clearly that he had heard some strange noise outside his house, followed by a faint glow that moved through the air, in a way he had never seen before but could only mean some level of magic. He didn’t hesitate to leave the house, following the traces of that unknown energy that intrigued and also seemed to attract him. It didn’t look bad, at least at first… the light got stronger, and when he realized it, he was sitting on the floor of that abandoned room, on his own castle.

He needed to find some way to warn Wolfram that he was back in the country so suddenly. He would be worried about waking up and not seeing him at home, especially after having asked him so often not to do anything hasty and stop to spend sleepless nights. Yuuri knew he was right, and he did not like the whole situation as much as he did.  With all that was going on, he should arrange a way to reassure him, not create even more apprehension. But he could not force himself to do otherwise. How could he rest quietly, when all responsibility rested on his shoulders, considering that something bad could happen at any moment?

Being in Shin Makoku so suddenly only confirmed his suspicions. If he was there, then he had been summoned in a hurry, in such a way that he ended up going to a completely random place inside the castle.  The thought made him pace, as he crossed the empty corridor lit only by torches on the walls, trying to locate himself among the similar passages. He soon found the right path in those virtually empty stone labyrinths. The lack of movement around alarmed him even more. He had not remembered allowing the guard of the castle to be so loose. There should be at least one patrol unit on each floor, according to his orders.

Getting closer to the main corridors, he realized that not only the number of guards but also the soldiers’ formation was completely different from what he had left. As he reached the main hallway, he noticed that many of them should be on a mission away from the castle weeks ago. They even stared at him with obvious curiosity, or confusion, which was understandable considering that he should not return to Shin Makoku for at least another two days. But the tranquil and relaxed attitude of the soldiers did not lessen their apprehension. 

There was something very wrong going on in his castle. And he needed to know what it was.

He didn’t have to think long enough to go straight to the meeting room. If something was happening, then surely there would be someone there. Lately, Gwendal didn’t even bother to leave that room.

He hadn’t reached his destination yet when noticed two figures approaching. He recognized them at once, despite the gloom caused by the dim light coming from the torches scattered along the corridor. Conrad and… Wolfram? Wolfram should have stayed behind on Earth. Had he come through some other portal?

Before he could ask any questions to the two brothers coming toward him, he noticed expressions of confusion, shock, and alertness in both of them as they approached him enough that they could see him. With the agility common to well-trained soldiers, they pulled their swords from the sheaths in one single movement, placing themselves in a defensive position as they stared their target.

It was not exactly the reception he expected, considering that they had called for him - though this no longer seemed to be the case. It was then that Yuuri realized that, beyond his attitudes, something else did not fit his perspective, especially about Wolfram.

With sword in hand and alert position, golden hair caught the light from the torches above his head, with the tips rippled in the neck of that ancient blue military uniform. His face seemed softer, rounded, with the same deep green eyes, framed by long lashes, which at that moment showed nothing but animosity. In short, he was… younger.

Realizing that he was being observed, Wolfram straightened, holding his sword tighter. Their eyes met directly, and at that moment, he hesitated. Without thinking, he stepped forward, the expression of attack relieving itself slightly.

“Yuuri?” The whisper that escaped Wolfram's lips was enough for him to begin to formulate a hypothesis. That was still Wolfram, and he had recognized him. He could start by working on these confirmed facts, but he needed more information if he really wanted to find out what the hell was going on in that place.

Yuuri stepped closer to the flame that lit them, and his movement made Conrad move in the same direction, ready to strike if he showed any sign of hostility. As he lifted his face, now directly lit by the hallway light, Conrad interrupted the movement he was about to do, staring at him with the same incredulity that the younger brother now displayed.

“Calm down” Yuuri raised his hands in a clear sign of peace, with the intention of reassuring them. There was no doubt that the two of them, though they were still the people he knew and esteemed, somehow were not exactly the same. They were in clothes he had not seen them in for a long time, and besides, they looked so much younger than the last time he had seen them, only a few days ago - especially Wolfram.

Considering the shock and disorientation present, he was not the Yuuri they expected to see there either. His theory made more sense when he put it this way. He turned to Conrad, who seemed to be the calmer of the two (which was not surprising, actually).

“What year are we?” He asked simply. The Mazoku did not usually keep track of the months and years that passed the same way as humans, but Conrad would probably understand exactly the content of his question. As expected, he answered objectively.

“2002”.

That made sense to him. It was truly unbelievable, but he had seen enough in his life to leave no chance aside. As far as he knew, anything was possible.

And as unreal as this might sound, Yuuri was in that moment in his own past.

Without waiting for another second, or any manifestation from the others, Yuuri passed between them and followed directly on his way to the meeting room. He ignored Conrad's call, Wolfram's surprised interjection, and the quick footsteps that followed him shortly after. He had to confirm his suspicion once and for all before taking any action.

If it was correct, Shin Makoku could be taking a much greater risk than he imagined.

  
  



End file.
